Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav blamed it for the Muzaffarnagar riots and said if Narendra Modi came to power, the country could see widespread communal tension.
"The BJP has only one target -- to come to power by any means. It triggered riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli to divide society on religious lines. It was Samajwadi Party that saved the state and the people from the communal conflagration. If the BJP comes to power at the Centre, the country could see large-scale communal riots," Yadav said while addressing rallies in Saharanpur, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar on Monday.
Yadav said the riots in Muzaffarnagar were unfortunate and should not have happened as they led to huge loss of life and property. He said the army was deployed at the right time and this controlled riots in urban areas but the violence had spread to rural areas and this were unfortunate.
"The people behind this riot will never be spared and the state Government is firm on preventing repeat of such incidents," he said and added: "It is very easy to become communal but extremely tough to maintain secular credentials."
Yadav reached the rally venue at Chandpur in Bijnor almost an hour late but the massive crowd, which comprised a large number of Muslims, patiently waited for him.
Enthused by the crowd, Yadav, whose speech is generally short, spoke for 40 minutes. He berated his political opponents and apprised the people about the development works his Government had carried out in the last two years.
"The BJP is a master in spreading canard. Modi says that Gujarat is the highest producer of milk while everyone knows that Uttar Pradesh is first in milk production in the country. The Gujarat company, Amul, came to UP not after taking permission from Modi. It came here to bolster its business fortunes," Yadav said.
He also attacked Modi for his statement on lions. "let me tell you that the lions of Gujarat will be caged in the ravines of Chambal and will not be allowed to roam free," he said as the crowd shouted Mulayam Singh Yadav zindabad, Akhilesh Yadav zindabad.
Earlier, addressing another election rally at Gangoh town of Saharanpur district that falls in Kairana parliamentary constituency, Akhilesh Yadav said that Modi and his development model would never be a challenge to SP in the lok Sabha election.
He said the Modi hype was artificial as the BJP had spent over one thousand crore rupees on publicity but the SP would depend on its pro-people and pro-minority policies.Addressing the meeting in support of party's young candidate from Kairana, Nahid Hasan, Yadav said the work done by his Government included distribution of laptops,launching of scholarship scheme for minority members and women, and health schemes that were benefiting the masses.